The Specials
Encyclopedia
The Specials are an English
2 Tone
ska
revival band
formed in 1977 in Coventry
, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady
beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups. The group was formed by songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers
, with Terry Hall
(vocals), Lynval Golding
(guitar, vocals) and a rhythm section. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy
outfits (pork pie hats, tonic and mohair suits, and loafers)." In 1980, the song "Too Much Too Young", the lead track on their The Special AKA Live! EP
, reached number one in the UK. In 1981, the unemployment-themed single "Ghost Town" also hit number one in the UK Singles Chart
. After seven consecutive UK
Top 10 singles
between 1979 and 1981, the band broke up. In 2008, it was announced that the band would reform and embark on a 30th anniversary tour in 2009. In 2010, they toured America and Europe. In 2011 , they are again touring the UK with a new 2011 Tour.
, Lynval Golding
and Horace Panter
(also known as Sir Horace Gentleman), the band was first called The Automatics, then The Coventry Automatics. Terry Hall
and Roddy Byers (also known as Roddy Radiation
) joined the band the following year, and the band changed its name to The Special AKA The Coventry Automatics, and then to The Special AKA. Joe Strummer
of The Clash
had attended one of their concerts, and invited The Special AKA to open for his band in their On Parole UK Tour. This performance gave The Special AKA a new level of national exposure, and they briefly shared The Clash's management.
The Specials began at the same time as Rock Against Racism
which first gathered in 1978. According to Dammers, anti-racism was intrinsic to the formation of The Specials, in that the band was formed with the goal of integrating black and white people. Many years later Dammers stated, "Music gets political when there are new ideas in music, ...punk was innovative, so was ska, and that was why bands such as The Specials and The Clash could be political."
In 1979, Dammers formed the 2 Tone Records
label
and released the band's debut single "Gangsters", a reworking of Prince Buster
's "Al Capone". The record became a Top 10 hit that summer. The band had begun wearing mod/rude boy
/skinhead
-style two-tone tonic suits, along with other elements of late 1960s teen fashion
s. Changing their name to The Specials, they recorded their debut LP
Specials
in 1979, produced
by Elvis Costello
. The album lead off with Dandy Livingstone
's "Rudy, A Message to You" (slightly altering the title to "A Message To You, Rudy") and also had covers
of Prince Buster
and Toots & the Maytals
songs from the late 1960s. In 1980, the EP Too Much Too Young
(credited to The Special AKA) was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart
, despite controversy over the song's lyrics, which reference teen pregnancy and promote contraception
.
Reverting once again to the moniker The Specials, the band's second album, More Specials
was not as commercially successful and was recorded at a time when, according to Terry Hall, conflicts had developed in the band. Female backing vocalist
s on The Specials first two studio albums included: Chrissie Hynde
, Rhoda Dakar
(then of The Bodysnatchers
and later of The Special AKA), Belinda Carlisle
, Jane Wiedlin
and Charlotte Caffey
(of The Go-Go's
). In the first few months of 1981 the band took a break from recording and touring, and then released "Ghost Town
", a non-LP Specials single, which hit number one in 1981. However, shortly afterwards, Staple, Golding and Hall left the band to form Fun Boy Three
.
Dammers then drastically revised the line-up of the band, adding vocalists Stan Campbell and Rhoda Dakar, and began working again under the group name The Special AKA. The resulting album from the new line-up, In the Studio
, was less successful, although the song "Free Nelson Mandela
" was a #9 UK hit. The latter contributed to making Mandela a cause célèbre
in the United Kingdom
, and became popular with anti-Apartheid
activists in South Africa. Dammers then dissolved the band and pursued political activism
.
band Fun Boy Three
and enjoyed commercial success from 1981 to 1983 with hits such as "Tunnel of Love", "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)". From 1984 until 1987, Hall fronted The Colourfield
, with some commercial success. After they disbanded, Hall pursued a solo career, working mostly in the New Wave
genre. He co-wrote a number of early Lightning Seeds
releases. He also performed some vocals for a Dub Pistols
' album.
Roddy Radiation
fronted and worked with several bands including The Tearjerkers (a band that he had begun in the last months of The Specials), The Bonediggers, The Raiders and Three Men & Black which included of Jean-Jacques Burnel
(The Stranglers
), Jake Burns
(Stiff Little Fingers
), Pauline Black (The Selecter
), Bruce Foxton
(The Jam
), Dave Wakeling
(The Beat
, General Public
) and Nick Welsh (Skaville UK). He currently fronts The Skabilly Rebels
, a band that mixes rockabilly
with ska.
In the early 1990s, members of The Beat
teamed up with members of The Specials to form Special Beat
. The band toured and released some live album
s. In 1996, with ska enjoying a resurgence in mainstream popularity on North America
n radio and MTV
, several members of The Specials reunited to record Today's Specials
, a studio album mostly of reggae and ska covers. This was followed in 1998 with an album of originals, Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!
, featuring guest vocals by Tim Armstrong
and Lars Frederiksen
of Rancid
. The band toured heavily in support of both releases. These albums were followed by Skinhead Girl
in 2000 and Conquering Ruler
in 2001. Notably absent from these records and tours were Hall, Bradbury and Dammers. In 1992, ex-Specials bassist Panter quit the music industry to train as a primary school teacher at the University of Central England in Birmingham. He later resumed his musical career.
In 2007, Hall teamed up with Golding for the first time in 24 years, to play Specials songs at two music festivals. At Glastonbury Festival
they appeared on the Pyramid Stage with Lily Allen
to perform "Gangsters". In May 2009 Golding claimed that Allen's reuniting him with Hall played a "massive part" in the groups later reformation. Later the same day they played on The Park Stage, with Damon Albarn
of Blur
on piano
and with beatboxer Shlomo
providing rhythm
, to perform "A Message To You, Rudy". At GuilFest
, Golding joined the Dub Pistols to again perform "Gangsters". In 2007, Golding regularly performed concerts and recorded with Pama International
, a collective of musicians who were members of Special Beat.
billed as the 'Surprise Act'. By December 2008, the band had announced 2009 tour dates to celebrate their 30th anniversary. It was announced that founder member Jerry Dammers is not set to join the band on the tour. Hall was quoted as saying "The door remains open to him". However Dammers described the new reunion as a "takeover" and claimed he has been forced out of the band.
On 10 April 2009, the reactivated band guested on the BBC Two
's Later... with Jools Holland. The following month, Golding and Bradbury expressed their intentions to release further original Specials material at a later date. On 8 June 2009, it was announced that The Specials would embark on a 'second leg' of their 30th Anniversary Tour - taking in the locations and venues that they missed earlier in the year. In July and August 2009, The Specials toured Australia and Japan. In October the band picked up the Inspiration Award at the Q Awards. In 2010, they performed at the Dutch festival Lowlands.
In an interview at the Green Room in Manchester in November 2010, Terry Hall confirmed that there would be further Specials dates in the Autumn of 2011, and confessed to having enjoyed playing live again; "It's a celebration of something that happened in your life that was important, and we're going to do that again next year, but then maybe that'll be it."
Unofficial members
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
2 Tone
2 Tone
2 Tone is a music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae, and New Wave. It was called 2 Tone because most of the bands were signed to 2 Tone Records at some point. Other labels associated with the 2 Tone sound were Stiff...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
revival band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
formed in 1977 in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups. The group was formed by songwriter/keyboardist Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
, with Terry Hall
Terry Hall (singer)
Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
(vocals), Lynval Golding
Lynval Golding
Lynval Golding is a British musician. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials....
(guitar, vocals) and a rhythm section. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy
Rude boy
Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi or rudy are common terms used in Jamaica. In the 1960s it was also used for juvenile delinquents and criminals in Jamaica, and has since been used in other contexts...
outfits (pork pie hats, tonic and mohair suits, and loafers)." In 1980, the song "Too Much Too Young", the lead track on their The Special AKA Live! EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, reached number one in the UK. In 1981, the unemployment-themed single "Ghost Town" also hit number one in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. After seven consecutive UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Top 10 singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
between 1979 and 1981, the band broke up. In 2008, it was announced that the band would reform and embark on a 30th anniversary tour in 2009. In 2010, they toured America and Europe. In 2011 , they are again touring the UK with a new 2011 Tour.
Career
Formed in 1977 by Jerry DammersJerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
, Lynval Golding
Lynval Golding
Lynval Golding is a British musician. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials....
and Horace Panter
Horace Panter
Horace Panter also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the Coventry 2 Tone, ska revival band The Specials....
(also known as Sir Horace Gentleman), the band was first called The Automatics, then The Coventry Automatics. Terry Hall
Terry Hall (singer)
Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
and Roddy Byers (also known as Roddy Radiation
Roddy Radiation
Roddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
) joined the band the following year, and the band changed its name to The Special AKA The Coventry Automatics, and then to The Special AKA. Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
had attended one of their concerts, and invited The Special AKA to open for his band in their On Parole UK Tour. This performance gave The Special AKA a new level of national exposure, and they briefly shared The Clash's management.
The Specials began at the same time as Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...
which first gathered in 1978. According to Dammers, anti-racism was intrinsic to the formation of The Specials, in that the band was formed with the goal of integrating black and white people. Many years later Dammers stated, "Music gets political when there are new ideas in music, ...punk was innovative, so was ska, and that was why bands such as The Specials and The Clash could be political."
In 1979, Dammers formed the 2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records
2 Tone Records was an English record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone.-History:...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
and released the band's debut single "Gangsters", a reworking of Prince Buster
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
's "Al Capone". The record became a Top 10 hit that summer. The band had begun wearing mod/rude boy
Rude boy
Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi or rudy are common terms used in Jamaica. In the 1960s it was also used for juvenile delinquents and criminals in Jamaica, and has since been used in other contexts...
/skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
-style two-tone tonic suits, along with other elements of late 1960s teen fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
s. Changing their name to The Specials, they recorded their debut LP
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Specials
Specials (album)
Specials is the debut album by British ska revival band The Specials.Released in 1979 on Jerry Dammers' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene...
in 1979, produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
. The album lead off with Dandy Livingstone
Dandy Livingstone
Dandy Livingstone is a Jamaican reggae musician and producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, "Rudy, A Message to You", which was later a hit for The Specials...
's "Rudy, A Message to You" (slightly altering the title to "A Message To You, Rudy") and also had covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Prince Buster
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
and Toots & the Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
songs from the late 1960s. In 1980, the EP Too Much Too Young
Too Much Too Young
Too Much Too Young can refer to:*Too Much Too Young" , a song by The Specials*"Too Much Too Young", a song by Little Angels...
(credited to The Special AKA) was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, despite controversy over the song's lyrics, which reference teen pregnancy and promote contraception
Cervical cap
The cervical cap is a form of barrier contraception. A cervical cap fits over the cervix and blocks sperm from entering the uterus through the external orifice of the uterus, called the os.-Terminology:...
.
Reverting once again to the moniker The Specials, the band's second album, More Specials
More Specials
More Specials is an October 1980 album from the ska band The Specials. The album was the band's second, after their self-titled debut, and expanded the group's 2 tone sound to include lounge music and other influences. It includes collaborations with The Go-Go's, Rhoda Dakar from The...
was not as commercially successful and was recorded at a time when, according to Terry Hall, conflicts had developed in the band. Female backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
s on The Specials first two studio albums included: Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
, Rhoda Dakar
Rhoda Dakar
Rhoda Dakar is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label.-Career:...
(then of The Bodysnatchers
The Bodysnatchers (band)
The Bodysnatchers were a seven-piece all-female band involved in the British 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.-Career:Formed in London by Nicky Summers in 1979, in the aftermath of the punk rock scene, The Bodysnatchers released two ska/rocksteady singles on 2 Tone Records...
and later of The Special AKA), Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
, Jane Wiedlin
Jane Wiedlin
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:...
and Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat."...
(of The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
). In the first few months of 1981 the band took a break from recording and touring, and then released "Ghost Town
Ghost Town
"Ghost Town" is the title of a 1981 song by the British ska band, The Specials. The song spent three weeks at number one and ten weeks in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Addressing themes of urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner cities, the song is remembered for...
", a non-LP Specials single, which hit number one in 1981. However, shortly afterwards, Staple, Golding and Hall left the band to form Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful English New Wave Pop band which ran from 1981 to 1983 and was formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials.-History:...
.
Dammers then drastically revised the line-up of the band, adding vocalists Stan Campbell and Rhoda Dakar, and began working again under the group name The Special AKA. The resulting album from the new line-up, In the Studio
In the Studio
In the Studio is the third album from the ska band The Specials, released in 1984 - long after the break-up of the original Specials - and only just managed to get into the UK Top 35....
, was less successful, although the song "Free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela
"Nelson Mandela" is a song written by Jerry Dammers and performed by his Coventry-based band The Special A.K.A. - with lead vocal by Stan Campbell - released on the single Nelson Mandela / Break Down The Door in 1984 as a protest against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela...
" was a #9 UK hit. The latter contributed to making Mandela a cause célèbre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and became popular with anti-Apartheid
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
activists in South Africa. Dammers then dissolved the band and pursued political activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
.
Later developments
Since the breakup of the original line-up, various members of the band performed in other bands and have reformed several times to tour and record in Specials-related projects. However, there has never been a complete reunion of the original line-up. In the 1980s, Hall, Staple and Golding founded the popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful English New Wave Pop band which ran from 1981 to 1983 and was formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials.-History:...
and enjoyed commercial success from 1981 to 1983 with hits such as "Tunnel of Love", "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)". From 1984 until 1987, Hall fronted The Colourfield
The Colourfield
The Colourfield were a British band formed in 1984 in Manchester, when former Specials and Fun Boy Three frontman, Terry Hall, joined up with ex-Swinging Cats members Toby Lyons and Karl Shale...
, with some commercial success. After they disbanded, Hall pursued a solo career, working mostly in the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
genre. He co-wrote a number of early Lightning Seeds
Lightning Seeds
The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed in 1989 by Ian Broudie , formerly of the Big in Japan band....
releases. He also performed some vocals for a Dub Pistols
Dub Pistols
Dub Pistols are a London based dub music and big beat band, founded by ex-club promoter, Barry Ashworth, in 1996. The other members of the band were record producer and bassist Jason O'Bryan, Brooklyn producer and lyricist, T. K. Lawrence on vocals, Jap Slut guitarist John King, and turntablist DJ...
' album.
Roddy Radiation
Roddy Radiation
Roddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
fronted and worked with several bands including The Tearjerkers (a band that he had begun in the last months of The Specials), The Bonediggers, The Raiders and Three Men & Black which included of Jean-Jacques Burnel
Jean-Jacques Burnel
J. J. Burnel , is a Franco-English musician producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the British rock band The Stranglers.-Life and career:...
(The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
), Jake Burns
Jake Burns
Jake Burns is a singer and guitarist, and is best known as the frontman of Stiff Little Fingers.-Career:...
(Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...
), Pauline Black (The Selecter
The Selecter
The Selecter are a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in mid 1979.Like many other bands in the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially diverse line-up. Their lyrics featured themes connected to politics and marijuana, set to strong melodies and a danceable beat...
), Bruce Foxton
Bruce Foxton
Bruce Foxton is an English rock and roll musician who is best known as the bass player in punk rock bands The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers.-Biography:...
(The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
), Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling
Dave Wakeling is an English rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is most famous for singing and writing songs for the 1980s 2-Tone band The Beat and also General Public.-Career:...
(The Beat
The Beat (band)
The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
, General Public
General Public
General Public were a band formed by The Beat vocalists, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, and which included former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Specials and The Clash...
) and Nick Welsh (Skaville UK). He currently fronts The Skabilly Rebels
The Skabilly Rebels
The Skabilly Rebels are an English band formed in 2003 by Roddy "Radiation" Byers, formerly of The Specials and Sam Smith, who had previously worked together in rockabilly band The Bonediggers. The band is based in Coventry, England...
, a band that mixes rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
with ska.
In the early 1990s, members of The Beat
The Beat (band)
The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
teamed up with members of The Specials to form Special Beat
Special Beat
Special Beat is a 2 Tone band founded by members of The Specials and The Beat in the early 1990s. The band toured England, Japan and North America, and released some live albums.-Discography:*Live *Gangsters...
. The band toured and released some live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
s. In 1996, with ska enjoying a resurgence in mainstream popularity on North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n radio and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, several members of The Specials reunited to record Today's Specials
Today's Specials
Today's Specials is a cover album by The Specials, released in 1996 . It is the first studio album by the group since 1984 although not in the full original line-up.-Track listing:#"Take Five" - 3:56...
, a studio album mostly of reggae and ska covers. This was followed in 1998 with an album of originals, Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!
Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!
Guilty 'til Proved Innocent! is an album by The Specials, released in 1998 . It is the first studio album of new songs by the group since 1984...
, featuring guest vocals by Tim Armstrong
Tim Armstrong
Timothy Lockwood Armstrong is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work with punk rock bands Rancid, Operation Ivy, Downfall, and the Transplants. He is also the owner and operator of Hellcat Records.-Personal life:Armstrong was born November 25, 1965 and was...
and Lars Frederiksen
Lars Frederiksen
Lars Erik Frederiksen is an American guitarist and vocalist, most notably for the punk rock band Rancid, and as the frontman of Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and The Old Firm Casuals. He was also briefly a member of the UK Subs in 1991...
of Rancid
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
. The band toured heavily in support of both releases. These albums were followed by Skinhead Girl
Skinhead Girl
Skinhead Girl is a cover album by The Specials, released in 2000 . The album comprises covers of popular Trojan Records songs.-Track listing:#"I Can't Hide" - 3:32#"Blam Blam Fever" - 3:25...
in 2000 and Conquering Ruler
Conquering Ruler
Conquering Ruler is a cover album by The Specials, released in 2001 .It is their third album of covers, and their seventh studio album...
in 2001. Notably absent from these records and tours were Hall, Bradbury and Dammers. In 1992, ex-Specials bassist Panter quit the music industry to train as a primary school teacher at the University of Central England in Birmingham. He later resumed his musical career.
In 2007, Hall teamed up with Golding for the first time in 24 years, to play Specials songs at two music festivals. At Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
they appeared on the Pyramid Stage with Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
to perform "Gangsters". In May 2009 Golding claimed that Allen's reuniting him with Hall played a "massive part" in the groups later reformation. Later the same day they played on The Park Stage, with Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
of Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
on piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and with beatboxer Shlomo
Shlomo (human beatbox)
Simon Shlomo Kahn is a British beatboxing artist.-Background and career:Shlomo is of Israeli, Iraqi and German descent and grew up in the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. He can speak Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic; he is a classically trained percussionist and a jazz drummer.His original...
providing rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
, to perform "A Message To You, Rudy". At GuilFest
GuilFest
GuilFest, formerly the Guildford Festival of Folk and Blues is a music festival held in Stoke Park, Guildford, England each July. The festival, like the larger Glastonbury Festival, features a range of genres including rock, folk, blues, and in recent years pop...
, Golding joined the Dub Pistols to again perform "Gangsters". In 2007, Golding regularly performed concerts and recorded with Pama International
Pama International
Pama International is an eight-piece reggae band from the United Kingdom. They describe themselves as 'Dub Fuelled Ska Rocksteady & Reggae'. They often play with other ska, dub and reggae artists...
, a collective of musicians who were members of Special Beat.
Reunion
On 30 March 2008, Hall stated that The Specials would be reforming for tour dates in Autumn 2008, and possibly for some recording. This was officially confirmed on 7 April 2008. On 6 September 2008, six members of the band performed on the Main Stage at the BestivalBestival
Bestival is a four-day music festival held at the Robin Hill country park on the Isle of Wight, England. It has been held annually in late summer since 2004. The event is organized by DJ and record producer Rob da Bank and is an off-shoot of his Sunday Best record label and club nights. The initial...
billed as the 'Surprise Act'. By December 2008, the band had announced 2009 tour dates to celebrate their 30th anniversary. It was announced that founder member Jerry Dammers is not set to join the band on the tour. Hall was quoted as saying "The door remains open to him". However Dammers described the new reunion as a "takeover" and claimed he has been forced out of the band.
On 10 April 2009, the reactivated band guested on the BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's Later... with Jools Holland. The following month, Golding and Bradbury expressed their intentions to release further original Specials material at a later date. On 8 June 2009, it was announced that The Specials would embark on a 'second leg' of their 30th Anniversary Tour - taking in the locations and venues that they missed earlier in the year. In July and August 2009, The Specials toured Australia and Japan. In October the band picked up the Inspiration Award at the Q Awards. In 2010, they performed at the Dutch festival Lowlands.
In an interview at the Green Room in Manchester in November 2010, Terry Hall confirmed that there would be further Specials dates in the Autumn of 2011, and confessed to having enjoyed playing live again; "It's a celebration of something that happened in your life that was important, and we're going to do that again next year, but then maybe that'll be it."
Original Specials line-up
- Terry HallTerry Hall (singer)Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
- lead vocals and co-songwriting - Jerry DammersJerry DammersJeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
- keyboards and main songwriter - Neville Staple - toasting, backing vocals, percussion
- Lynval GoldingLynval GoldingLynval Golding is a British musician. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials....
- rhythm guitar, vocals - Roddy "Radiation" ByersRoddy RadiationRoddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
- lead guitar - "Sir" Horace "Gentleman" PanterHorace PanterHorace Panter also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the Coventry 2 Tone, ska revival band The Specials....
- bass guitar - John BradburyJohn Bradbury (drummer)John Bradbury is the drummer with The Specials. They had a #1 UK hit with 'Ghost Town'.He joined The Special AKA when the original Specials split in 1981; they had a Top 10 hit with 'Nelson Mandela'. He and Noel Davies recorded "The Selecter", the 'b'side to "Gangsters", before the latter had...
- drums
Unofficial members
- Rico RodriguezRico RodriguezRico Rodriguez MBE , also known as Reco or El Reco, is a ska and reggae trombonist. He has recorded with many producers, including Karl Pitterson, Prince Buster, and Lloyd 'Matador' Daley...
- trombone - Dick CuthellDick CuthellDick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays flugelhorn, cornet, and trumpet, amongst a range of other brass instruments, including tenor horn and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with The Specials and Rico Rodriguez. He also collaborated with bands such as...
- flugel horn
Special AKA
- Jerry DammersJerry DammersJeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
- keyboards, vocals - John BradburyJohn Bradbury (drummer)John Bradbury is the drummer with The Specials. They had a #1 UK hit with 'Ghost Town'.He joined The Special AKA when the original Specials split in 1981; they had a Top 10 hit with 'Nelson Mandela'. He and Noel Davies recorded "The Selecter", the 'b'side to "Gangsters", before the latter had...
- drums - Rhoda DakarRhoda DakarRhoda Dakar is a British singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of The Bodysnatchers, who were signed to the 2 Tone record label.-Career:...
- vocals - Dick CuthellDick CuthellDick Cuthell is a British musician and record producer. He plays flugelhorn, cornet, and trumpet, amongst a range of other brass instruments, including tenor horn and valve trombone. Cuthell is best known for his work with The Specials and Rico Rodriguez. He also collaborated with bands such as...
- flugel horn - Garry McManus - bass guitar
- Stan Campbell - vocals
- Egidio Newton - vocals, percussion
- John Shipley - guitar
1994 reformation
In 1994 they toured with the original line-up without Terry Hall and Jerry Dammers. Roddy sang Terry's parts.1996 reformation
- Neville Staple - vocals, percussion
- Roddy ByersRoddy RadiationRoddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
- vocals, lead guitar - Horace PanterHorace PanterHorace Panter also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the Coventry 2 Tone, ska revival band The Specials....
- bass guitar - Lynval GoldingLynval GoldingLynval Golding is a British musician. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials....
- rhythm guitar, vocals - Aitch Bembridge - drums
- Adam Birch - trumpet, trombone
- Mark Adams - keyboards
- Jon Read - trumpet, accordion
2009 reformation
- Terry HallTerry Hall (singer)Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
- vocals and songwriting - Lynval GoldingLynval GoldingLynval Golding is a British musician. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist with the British 2 Tone Records band, The Specials....
- rhythm guitar, vocals - Neville Staple - toasting, backing vocals, percussion
- Roddy ByersRoddy RadiationRoddy Radiation is an English musician who played lead guitar for The Specials, as well as many rockabilly bands such as the Bonediggers and the Tearjerkers...
- lead guitar - Horace PanterHorace PanterHorace Panter also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the Coventry 2 Tone, ska revival band The Specials....
- bass guitar - John BradburyJohn Bradbury (drummer)John Bradbury is the drummer with The Specials. They had a #1 UK hit with 'Ghost Town'.He joined The Special AKA when the original Specials split in 1981; they had a Top 10 hit with 'Nelson Mandela'. He and Noel Davies recorded "The Selecter", the 'b'side to "Gangsters", before the latter had...
- drums - Nik Torp - keyboards
- Jon Read - trumpet
- Adam Birch - trumpet
- Tim Smart - trombone
- Drew Stansall - saxophone and flute
Discography
- SpecialsSpecials (album)Specials is the debut album by British ska revival band The Specials.Released in 1979 on Jerry Dammers' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene...
(1979) - More SpecialsMore SpecialsMore Specials is an October 1980 album from the ska band The Specials. The album was the band's second, after their self-titled debut, and expanded the group's 2 tone sound to include lounge music and other influences. It includes collaborations with The Go-Go's, Rhoda Dakar from The...
(1980) - In the StudioIn the StudioIn the Studio is the third album from the ska band The Specials, released in 1984 - long after the break-up of the original Specials - and only just managed to get into the UK Top 35....
(1984) - Today's SpecialsToday's SpecialsToday's Specials is a cover album by The Specials, released in 1996 . It is the first studio album by the group since 1984 although not in the full original line-up.-Track listing:#"Take Five" - 3:56...
(1996) - Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!Guilty 'til Proved Innocent!Guilty 'til Proved Innocent! is an album by The Specials, released in 1998 . It is the first studio album of new songs by the group since 1984...
(1998) - Skinhead GirlSkinhead GirlSkinhead Girl is a cover album by The Specials, released in 2000 . The album comprises covers of popular Trojan Records songs.-Track listing:#"I Can't Hide" - 3:32#"Blam Blam Fever" - 3:25...
(2000) - Conquering RulerConquering RulerConquering Ruler is a cover album by The Specials, released in 2001 .It is their third album of covers, and their seventh studio album...
(2001) - Live at Brixton -Sunday Times Live album free giveaway (2009)
Further reading
- Williams, PaulPaul Williams (author)Paul Williams is an author, commentator and lifelong devotee to 2-Tone, ska music and the British skinhead subculture...
(1995) You're Wondering Now - A History Of The Specials, ST Publishing. ISBN 1-89892-725-1 - Panter, HoraceHorace PanterHorace Panter also known as Sir Horace Gentleman, is the bassist for the Coventry 2 Tone, ska revival band The Specials....
(2007) Ska'd for Life - A Personal Journey with the "Specials", Sidgwick & Jackson, ISBN 978-0283070297 - Chambers, Pete (2008) 2-Tone-2: Dispatches from the Two Tone City, 30 Years on, Tencton Planet Publications. ISBN 978-0954412562
- Staple, Neville (2009) Original Rude BoyOriginal Rude BoyOriginal Rude Boy is the autobiography of Neville Staple, vocalist in ska band The Specials. The book was launched in May, 2009 to coincide with the reunion tour of The Specials. It sets out to chart the black British influence on the second wave of ska which originated in Coventry in the late...
, Aurum PressAurum PressAurum Press is an independent English publishing house located in London. It was founded in 1976. Aurum concentrates on non-fiction titles and publishes approximately 75 new books every year. One of its titles in 2009 will be the biography of Neville Staple, vocalist in The Specials, Fun Boy...
. ISBN 978-1-84513-480-8 - Williams, PaulPaul Williams (author)Paul Williams is an author, commentator and lifelong devotee to 2-Tone, ska music and the British skinhead subculture...
(2009) You're Wondering Now-The Specials From Conception to Reunion, Cherry Red Books. ISBN 978-1-901447-51-4
External links
- The Specials history
- The official Specials fan forum
- The Specials official website
- The Specials profile Unofficial 2 Tone website